Psych100

October 4th 2016

Ch.3 - Brain and body communication

Study question: Compare and contrast genotypes with phenotypes
How and why are twins used to study physiological science.
Peripheral nervous system: Somatic and Automatic systems
> sympathetic nervous system : fight
> Parasympathetic nervous system:
flight
The Endocrine system.
Hormones: - Similar to neurotransmitters
- Use blood system
- Secreted by endocrine cells
Neurohormones: - Secreted by neurons
- Use blood system
2 types of hormones: Peptides
> Neurohormones and hormones from the pituitary
gland.
Steroids
> Adrenal glands and gonads.
Hormones and sexual behavior: Sex hormones are produced by gonads.
Males have higher levels of androgens
> Testosterone
Females have higher levels of estrogens
> Estradiol and
Progesterone
Estrus cycle vs menstrual cycle:
Estrus cycle: - Present in animals
- Females are only receptive when fertile
- Estrogen is important
Menstrual cycle: - Human females
- Variations across menstrual cycle
- Women may judge men differently across their
cycle
- During their fertile period women tend to prefer
more
masculine, self-assured men.
Neural Coordination
Hormones and performance enhancing drugs:
> Growth hormone: - Prompts bone, cartilage and
muscle growth.
- Normally released during sleep.
> Anabolic Steroids: - Similar effects as testosterone.

Psych100
October 4th 2016
- Side effects include hypertension,
liver damage, sexual
dysfunction,
roid rage and testicular atrophy.
How does the brain change?
Plasticity: A property of the brain allowing it to constantly change and
recognize itself as
a result of experience, drugs, or injury.
Developmental changes : e.g. synaptic pruning.
Rewiring through the life span: Cells that wire together, stay together.
(Hebb's rule)
Strengthening and weakening of connections.
Neurogenesis: The brain grows new cells
Spatial memory
Plays a role in recovery from injury.
Study: London taxi drivers brains were studied and were
found to have a
larger hippocampus, it was stated
that their hippocampus grew
though neurogenesis.
Cortical Remapping : Phantom limbs
Synesthesia: Ted talk video
Sexual Dimorphism.
Males and females have brain differences
Nurture and nature play a role
Males: larger brains
Spatial processing
Lateralized for language (left hemisphere)
Females: Language processing
Bilateral language (Right hemisphere)
Larger Corpus callousum
Chromosomes
Composed of genes
Humans have 23 pairs
Genes
Composed of DNA
A segment of DNA that provides the blueprint for the construction of a
protein
Do not act in isolation
Genetic basis
Genotype and Phenotype
Genotype: Ones genetic constitution
Phenotype: Ones expression of their genes through their
interaction with the
environment.

Psych100
October 4th 2016
Most psychological characteristics are Polygenetic : Behavior is too
complex to be explained by a single gene.

Mendelain Genetics:
> Alleles: Genes come in pairs
Alleles usually match but not always.
> Dominant Gene: Gets expressed when alleles differ.
> Recessive Gene: Only expressed if paired with the same gene
Single cell mutations
Phenylketonuria (PKU): If untreated leads to severe cognitive and
motor
problems.
Recessive gene
Huntingtons: Occurs in 35-40 year olds
Fatal
Brain cell atrophy
Dominant Gene
Red-Green colorblindness: Recessive on X chromosome
Sex linked
1 in 10 men, 1 in 100 women.
Twin Studies
Monozygotic: Identical twins, one egg was fertilized.
Dizygotic: Fraternal twins, two eggs were fertilized.
Adoption Studies
Compare adopted siblings to biological siblings.
Compare monozygotic twins that were raised together to those that
were raised apart.
Heritability: Proportion of variability in some characteristics that is
attributable to genetic
variation.
2
=
Genetic
variance/
total variance
H
Variance occurs in populations not individuals